The Black Addiction

A lot of people have e-mailed me telling me how much my blog and my Mode Lab articles inspire them to want to wear bold patterns and prints. The problem is, a lot of them feel hesitant about doing so because they are so used to wearing black and don't know how to wear anything else besides that. If you ask me, I'd say that getting rid of the habit of wearing black is like giving up smoking.

Wearing black has become such an ingrained habit nowadays that people seldom strive to try anything "new" anymore. In fact, wearing black is almost as addicting as nicotine.

When we smoke cigarettes, we experience a certain feeling of calmness. Similarly, when we wear black, we get a familiar comforting feeling because we all know that "no one can go wrong with basic black". And it's true -- black always makes us look confident and sophisticated.

However, if you are a fashion-conscious human being (if you're not, you're reading the wrong blog), then I must urge you to step out of your comfort zone and experiment a little more with new things.

Giving up "black" is like giving up cigarettes -- you have to take it one day at a time. Don't go into shock by suddenly thrusting yourself into the world of colors and prints. Instead, start slow by incorporating subtle pops of color into your outfits by wearing colored accessories, bags, and shoes. After a couple of months of doing this, you will start to feel more comfortable with colors and be able to wear dresses, cardigans, and jeans in bright and bold hues. Once you've grown accustomed to doing this, you will then start to feel excited about mixing and matching different prints and colors together.

Much like giving up cigarettes, however, there will always be a time where you'll experience a period of withdrawal and go back to wearing the black that you love so much. The good thing about it is that when that time comes, your desire to wear black will merely be a "want" instead of a "need", which means you'll be perfectly comfortable to wear other colors too depending on your mood.

I know a lot of people will disagree with me on this, but I personally find it boring how designers often use black as the predominant color in their collections. Since "everyone looks good in black", isn't it kind of a cheap cop-out to resort to this ancient method of looking good? It's like you're admitting to yourself that you do not have a good sense of style or eye for fashion because you only wear something that you know would look good on everyone else too.